All Bark And No Bite - Preparing For The First Six Months of The DOL Fiduciary Rule

The implementation of the Department of Labor's Fiduciary rule has been pending for some time.

The rule will go into effect on June 9 but will not be fully implemented until January 1, 2018.

What does that mean?

It means that for the time being there won't be any penalties or oversight. Forbes compared it to a restaurant's "soft opening".

From June 9 forward, advisors to retirement investors must act as fidicuaries, meaning they must advise in the best interest of the investor, charge reasonable fees, and refrain from making any misleading statements.

Although the rule will be in effect, the DOL is expected to continue to review the rule over the summer months so there may be changes ahead before the law is implemented in January.